Watch Over You
by miserylovescompanyx
Summary: Reid discovers the truth about Prentiss and wont stop at anything to find her; the woman he loves...  Post-"Lauren."
1. Chapter 1

_I never got my chance to say goodbye to the woman who made my life brighter; a bit less...dark. But what if I had went with Morgan? What if I did more to help? What if I stopped her from leaving that day she walked out of our lives? How did I not know what has been bothering her from her fingernails? What if, what if. Why ask questions that will never be answered? It doesn't matter anymore; The only woman who knew how to put a smile on my face is out of my life forever._

Dr. Spencer Reid felt the tears begin to fall like he had no control over it, like he had suddenly become overwhelmed with a disease that was impossible to cure. He gently wiped the tears away, and tried to redeem his self, but couldn't find the strength in himself to do so, and he felt like he never would find that strength. Life isn't going to be the same without Emily Prentiss. Dr. Reid knew the answers to many questions, he could solve the most difficult math problem and recite a book word for word, cover to cover without mistakes, but the thing he knew, perhaps most for sure, was that life was going to change forever, and not in a positive way. No statistics, just a gut feeling. Thoughts of regret and remorse screamed to him in chorus, then sporadically. Each thought gradually getting louder, and louder...

_Why? Why did this happen? This shouldn't have happened..._

The same question became more and more haunting each time he thought it. His own mind, and heart where the source of his pain at this moment, betraying him... hurting him...

Shaking, he gently placed a red, fully bloomed rose at the base of the tombstone. "I miss you," He whispered quietly, wondering if she could actually hear him.

This bred to another thought; what TRULY happens after you die? _Nothing? _Is this life all for nothing? If it's for nothing, why do we live it? Why do we treasure it so much? Is there really_ an afterlife? _

_What did Prentiss do to deserve this? _All she's done all her life was help people.._ She risked her life for me._ She doesn't deserve this. _Why couldn't it have been me six feet under?_

_Why didn't I say goodbye?_

_Why didn't I push past JJ to see her, just one last time... even if she was lifeless?_

**_Why didn't JJ let me see her?_**

_She's dead._

**Dead.**

"I miss her too," He felt a light touch of a familiar hand on his shoulder. He knew it was Garcia; he'd know her comforting presence anywhere. "But, please, believe me. Everything will be okay." Her voice shook as she spoke, she dropped her arms by her side. She held a pink rose and placed it next to the one Reid had placed. He turned to her and she pulled him into a tight hug and wouldn't let him go. Garcia was always that kind of person; always there, and always strived to help. Sometimes her presence made the world feel a little lighter- this wasn't one of those times. "You don't fool me, Garcia." He cried into her shoulder, "Life's not going to be okay. You...you don't realize how hard death is until it happens to someone... someone you really care about. And murder? Murder... it couldn't be worse..." His voice faded. He pulled away, and she looked him in the eye. "She's always going to be in our hearts, and.. you. You have an eidetic memory. You just think of her and you can watch every memory of you two together like a movie. You're very lucky. That'll keep her alive in your heart; and you know. You can just sit there, at your desk at work, and be like, 'Hey guys, remember that time I hit Emily in the head with my physics magic?' And then we'll all laugh, and remember the good times... and the laughs. Ya know?" She said, smiling slightly through her tears.

"Physics magic, huh?" Reid said, lifting his head up, a small smile approaching. He replayed the moment in his head. The look on Prentiss' face. Her laughter. Her beauty... He lost his smile.  
>"How'd you get here?"<br>"I walked."  
>"Let me bring you home. It's getting cold, and I don't my genius getting sick," She said, poking him the arm. Although she was trying to uplift the mood a little... it didn't work all that much, but Reid nodded. He took one last look at the gravesite. It was just dirt - it hadn't even been long enough for grass to grow. It may sound sickening and unrealistic, but he, for one moment, felt like she was trapped down there alive...<p>

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><p>Sleeping felt impossible. Reid laid awake, staring at his ceiling.<p>

_What if she's alive? _

_"Which one of you is the FBI agent?" Cyrus pointed the gun at Reid's head. "It's me." Cyrus turned to Prentiss, pulled her by the hair, and... _

Reid hated thinking about what happened afterwards, and how it all happened for him. _ I should've been the one to suffer... not her... not Emily... _ He choked back a sudden urge to bawl his eyes out. "Damn it.." He mumbled, as he wearily left his bed and sat at his desk. He held his head in his hands, feeling a headache approach. He sat still for a few minutes, trying to block all thoughts from his head. He just wanted peace, for a few minutes, and that he did get. Until the phone rang, causing the headache to produce even sharper pains. He grabbed the phone and answered it, his voice light. "Garcia..? Why are you calling me at-" "I need you to come over. Now." "Garcia, I'm really not in the mood-" "It's _ important. _ Like, extreme bad... slash good news that I really can't say on the phone.." "Gar-" "YOU'RE GOING TO COME OVER." She hung up, leaving him no choice but to go. But before he went, there was one thing he needed. And that, of course, was coffee.

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	2. Chapter 2

**I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit short. /: I didn't meet my quota of 1,000 words. But I promise I'll make the next chapters longer. Please Reeeview! Your reviews are what will keep me going! Constructive criticism welcome... as well as compliments :P**

_Chapter 2._

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><p>Garcia grabbed Reid excitedly by the hand. "Seriously, you wont regret waking up for this."<p>

"Well, I wasn't exactly asleep anyway..." Reid muttered, trying to ignore his massive headache.

She dragged Reid into her Garcia-Cave and sat down in her computer chair, typing ferociously. "I was up all night thinking about Emily," She said, not even looking up from her screen. "Yeah weren't we all-" Reid tapped his fingers lightly on his coffee mug.

"Don't give me sass. Look what I found," She said, pushing her chair away from the computer. Reid wearily looked at the computer. He raised an eyebrow. "Hospital records?"

"None for Emily Prentiss, _or _Lauren Reynolds. None. Nada. Zilch."

Reid eyed Garcia, "So she never checked in?" He took a sip of his coffee, and placed the mug on her desk. "Never checked in, never checked out." She rolled her chair back to the computer and searched the death record database. "None."

Reid felt his heart skip a beat. "I-I don't know what to say." He said, stuttering on every word. He didn't know whether he was thrilled...or scared. _She's alive. _He felt has hands begin to shake.

"Sh. Boy genius. Say nothing." Garcia said, spinning around in her chair. Reid took a sip of his coffee, nervously placing the mug on her desk. "Garcia, this doesn't mean anything."  
>"What?" She said, her voice light but the tone dark. Her smile began to fade away, and that made Reid feel uncomfortable. His hands shook more. "She's still gone." Reid muttered, making eye contact with her. Her smile faded. "It also means that JJ lied to us at the hospital." He continued, his tone of voice getting softer. "I'll talk to Jayje..I'll ask her-" Garcia began. Her voice shook, and she felt uneasy.<p>

"No. She just wanted to protect Emily... and us.."

"What do you mean?"

"She didn't want us to go looking for her. Doyle's still out there somewhere; if we went looking for her we could get ourselves in more danger then we'd like. I'm sure it was Emily's idea. It had to be." Reid said. He bit his lip and held is head down. Garcia picked up a framed photo on her desk, and held it close to her. She looked at it and began to tear.

"It's Emily. This might sound ridiculous but a few weeks before she...'died'... I couldn't fall asleep; I was up all night crying. I knew she'd be awake, she was always a night owl. So, I called her and we just talked. She then offered to come to my house, and I immediately felt better. The minute she showed up at my door she pulled me into a really tight hug and I just cried into her shoulder for like 10 minutes straight.. But I wasn't crying because I was upset; I was crying because I had somebody like her in my life. Someone so amazing." She sighed.  
>"My best friend," Garcia delicately wiped a tear away with her finger.<br>"She stayed over my house until like, 3:30 AM. She looked exhausted; but she didn't go home. Instead she offered to take me out to get a coffee. It's funny how coffee shops are open so late... But we got a coffee and walked to the playground. We looked so sketchy but we didn't care at all. I mean why would it matter, right? We sat on the swings and we just ended up reminiscing. I hadn't seen her smile so much in such a long time.. So I grabbed my camera and just took a picture of her." She held the picture out for Reid to see. He took it in his hands.

"I don't remember seeing her this happy either," Reid said, lightly skimming his fingers over the frame.

"I don't feel complete without her. The feeling of her dead was... indescribable. But knowing she's alive.. and not with us...is worse."

_Garcia's right. I need her back in my life. These headaches are getting worse without her. I need her. I need her now. Wait, no I don't. She betrayed me. She's not alive and these records are all wrong. All wrong. This is all a lie._

"We can make it a missing person case... Just like we would with any other victim.. I'll tell the team tomorrow and-" Said Garcia, frantically but a joyous look on her face.

"No. We can't do this."

"Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous. It'll mess with everything.. Everyone thinks she's dead." Reid's face went hot.

"Not JJ." Garcia interrupted, her face stern.

"We- can't do this. We're not going to- I have to leave. I'll see you tomorrow." Reid said, a new headache pounding even louder.

"I'll find her myself." Garcia said. Reid actually had to hold back a laugh. Garcia could never do it on her own and she knew that; she just wanted to make him feel guilty and give in.

"No." Reid said, feeling faint. His voice drifting.

Reid felt the room begin to spin, and after that he felt nothing.

Nothing at all.


End file.
